Is it time to just sit (I mean, stand) in our assigned seats?

[MakingNews]

I attended five of the United States’ six gold matches – missing only the third group game versus El Salvador. This year, I also attended the friendlies in Arizona and Tampa. I’m no newbie to national team games.

For each game, I stood with Sam’s Army and cheered and screamed my lungs out. Today, my voice is still horse from our win over Mexico. I love much of the atmosphere that the supporter’s section provides. It’s great to see old friends and to meet new fans.

But it's time to ask: Should we just stand in our assigned seats?

At the final on Sunday, Soldier Field security kept tying to put fans in their assigned seats in the section. These fans – many wearing Mexico jerseys -- probably scalped their tix from somewhere and didn’t know what they were getting into. They would move one Sam’s Army fans to his ticketed seat… then have to move another… then another… (Soldier Field staff also tried to get U.S. fans to sit down during the match, but that was never going to happen, so they gave up quickly.)

One guy who fought with security when they tried to move him to his seat ended up getting himself kicked out/arrested.

So from now, I’m just going to stand in my seat. We’re usually in the stadium earlier enough so that no one has claimed our spot. But if I need to politely ask some to move, I will. I’m tired of always worrying that someone is going to come by and try to displace me during the match.

And perhaps it’s time to change in the section’s unofficial rules so everyone else also sits where they are assigned. I know it would all be fine if security wasn’t so clueless. But in my many matches, it’s rare that stadium staffs understand these unofficial rules of ours. I almost always witness one problem or another. At the U.S.-Mexico match in Columbus in ‘05, one guy tried to start a fight when he and his buddies couldn’t sit in their ticket seats.

Now, if only everything could be like it was in Boston for the Gold Cup, where the tickets were actually printed as general admission. This is the only time I’ve seen this done at U.S. Soccer match. Why can’t it just be like that every time, everywhere?

Again, I had a great time. And I want to thank everyone I met on this long cross-country journey. It was a blast. I’m soooo looking forward to qualifying!

[SnakeEyes]

Only time I saw people getting asked to go to their seats were when they were in the aisles.

[joeginto]

i saw the same thing on sunday, makingnews. it's impossible to get local security to understand that this is a special section. most all of us understand it's GA and it is what it is. on the flipside, i had both my kids there on sunday and i'll tell you it was kind of hassle when about a half dozen guys tried jamming in there with us on the first row. i'm not going to ask to see their ticket because, quite frankly, i don't want to be a jackass. but i had to work hard to make sure my boys didn't get squashed and could see the pitch. it was all worth it, believe me. but maybe we just stand in the seats that we're assigned.

[PhillyQuakesFan]

In future why not just work with the USSF to ensure that supporters section tickets are labeled as GA?? This has worked in the past, most recently the Gold Cup games at Foxboro.

[UpTheMetro]

For a game in Hartford I got booted from where I was standing in SA about 10 minutes before the start of the game. I was standing there for a good 30 minutes by that point. After I tried to explain to the guy its general admission security got involved and made me leave my seat. With under 10 minutes till game time the section was nearly completely full. Rather than standing in the very last row I thought it was only fair to stand in my assigned seat. So unfortunately I had to kick out the guy in my assigned seat, who did not take it well.

I just don't get why US Soccer can't make special arrangements with security so this isn't a problem.

[Gioca]

For a game in Hartford I got booted from where I was standing in SA about 10 minutes before the start of the game. I was standing there for a good 30 minutes by that point. After I tried to explain to the guy its general admission security got involved and made me leave my seat. With under 10 minutes till game time the section was nearly completely full. Rather than standing in the very last row I thought it was only fair to stand in my assigned seat. So unfortunately I had to kick out the guy in my assigned seat, who did not take it well.

I just don't get why US Soccer can't make special arrangements with security so this isn't a problem.

The first game in Hartford (T&T) I had this complete jackass kick me out of my GA seat about 15 minutes AFTER the start of the game. He was wearing a white USA jersey and had a little girl about 3 years old with him, in the freaking the supporters section. What a tool. He left 10 minutes after that as well, later never to return again. He should be blacklisted from ever buying tickets again.

I don't know of any problems for the second game against Latvia, so it must just take time for n00b security to learn. I think we just need to stand our ground and stick together, they cannot eject the entire section.

[MakingNews]

I just don't get why US Soccer can't make special arrangements with security so this isn't a problem.

I was always under the impression that some types of rules kept stadiums from issuing GA tickets for games. But since the game in Gillette was actually ticketed as general admission, it's got me wondering why they all supporters sections can't be ticketed this way.

Things just worked so well in Foxboro. I wish it were that way all the time.

[gosh1976]

I like to try and get to the game early so I can go ahead and get to my seats but Sunday we left the tickets in the room and had to go back and get them so when we got into the stadium after trying to drink as much of the 6 pack of Newcastle as we could the section was pretty full.

I walked down row where our seats were in the third row they were taken so we went towards the back of the section where there will still some empty seats during the warm ups. No big deal I wasn't going to ask them to move. Although it would have been nice to be a little further from the beer showers.

If I am not mistaken the Sam's Army rules say to move if you are asked. Though I have been asked before even though we were only two seats away from our assigned seats I told the guy that the section is understood to be general admission but that I wouldn't want to ask the people sitting right beside us to move so I would have to go to the back of the section if he insisted and I offered to squeeze in a little. One of the guys stayed for a while two others didn't.

I did see one security guard ask people to sit down that lasted about 10 seconds before he gave up. What I don't understand is why they spent so much time watching over us and moving people around instead of watching for the people throwing shit at us. I understand them not wanting people to stand in the aisles each time security came around we squeezed in so a guy could get out of the aisle who didn't have seats in the section.

It would be great if we could just get the tickets printed up as Gen admission.

[Galaxian]

yeah im starting to get fed up with the stupid security guards asking everyone to sit down and/or move to their section.

Rishi was the one that got kicked out, and I think detained, because he was trying to explain to the security guard, who was being an a**, that this was a US supporters section.

[samuraiblues2006]

I saw a lot of ticket listings on ebay and craigslist for the gold cup final, and to my surprise some people are selling SA section tickets for $$$ to make money or for whatever reasons. It was a sold out game so I understand people wanting to sell extras and stuff, but I think (as someone already mentioned above) that's why there are some non-US fans in the SA section. They bought tickets on ebay or off craigslist last minute, paid absurd amount of money, not knowing what section it was, and wanting to sit in their assigned seats.

By the way people who were sitting (standing) in the SA section for the final, you guys did a GREAT job! I was way up in the 400' section, but I could hear you guys chanting and singing. It got me going too. Great job guys.

[degerron]

I had the same problem in the Gold Cup 2005 at Giants Stadium. Security there are asses anyway but I found it funny that they were asking the few American fans to sit down but not all the Panama fans to sit. Looking at this 2007 Gold Cup I saw a lot of standing Mexican so I wonder if they asked all 50K of them. Still US Soccer could take the time to work with those football stadium security people and inform them of the standing culture. As for being in you assigned seat well that something else all together. it would be nice if some one built stadiums like in Germany where there are whole standing sections for the standing faithful type.

[Ikari]

I remember a family of four came to the C-Bus'05 WC game with tickets in the SA section. We tried to explain this was general admission, but they were having none of it. So the people vacated their seats, and I think the family (or at least the dad) was pissed for most of the game because no one would sit down. To the point he was threatening to call security and have the entirety of Sams Army kicked out.

USSF needs to get involved somehow.

[rednow.red4ever]

The funny thing is that since Soldier Field was the home to the Fire, and Section 8 being GA, you think security would get it.....but they seemed as up tight as ever on Sunday....

[BMGSouthCity]

I really don't think standing at assigned seats is the answer. Drums need to be in the middle, and kids need to be in front. I had trouble seeing some of the action Sunday, it would be impossible for kids.

The answer, IMO, is printing tickets as General Admission. This, however, would require someone at US Soccer getting off his or her arse and trying to make soccer more fun to watch in the Unites States. If anyone has any bright ideas on making that happen, I'm all ears.